It sounded like most of the new camera optimizations were through software which leaves me wondering if I'm going to get panoramic pictures with my 4S. Given Apple's history I'm not so confident but I'm keeping my fingers crossed as it did look pretty cool.

It seems to me that stretching the iPhone 5 screen that way is just going to be nothing but pain for developers. They used to have just two aspect ratios to worry about, the iPhone and the iPad, and now they have three.

This is one of the key weaknesses of Android, in my view -- just about every aspect ratio known to man is on at least one Android device, and writing separate UIs for all those different screens is not an easy thing. The Android ecosystem has some tools to lay out based on size, rather than on pixels, so any 16:9 layout should work on any 16:9 device, but you've still got to do a separate UI for each ratio -- and, potentially, yet another for that aspect ratio flipped sideways.

It seems to me that stretching the iPhone 5 screen that way is just going to be nothing but pain for developers. They used to have just two aspect ratios to worry about, the iPhone and the iPad, and now they have three.

This is one of the key weaknesses of Android, in my view -- just about every aspect ratio known to man is on at least one Android device, and writing separate UIs for all those different screens is not an easy thing. The Android ecosystem has some tools to lay out based on size, rather than on pixels, so any 16:9 layout should work on any 16:9 device, but you've still got to do a separate UI for each ratio -- and, potentially, yet another for that aspect ratio flipped sideways.

It's messy, and I think Apple has just bought into some of that pain.

Possibly. Pre-iPhone 5 apps can just use black bars, right? If new apps can do that too you might just end up seeing an ecosystem mostly full of original aspect ratio screens to avoid dealing with it.

Or they'll realize 2 scenarios aren't a big deal (huge difference from Android) and everything will be fine.

It seems to me that stretching the iPhone 5 screen that way is just going to be nothing but pain for developers. They used to have just two aspect ratios to worry about, the iPhone and the iPad, and now they have three.

This is one of the key weaknesses of Android, in my view -- just about every aspect ratio known to man is on at least one Android device, and writing separate UIs for all those different screens is not an easy thing. The Android ecosystem has some tools to lay out based on size, rather than on pixels, so any 16:9 layout should work on any 16:9 device, but you've still got to do a separate UI for each ratio -- and, potentially, yet another for that aspect ratio flipped sideways.

It's messy, and I think Apple has just bought into some of that pain.

I think you're overstating the problem on Android somewhat. It doesn't just have "some tools" to avoid pixel-specific layouts -- the whole UI layout system is designed to be scalable and flexible enough to let developers create apps that scale seamlessly to multiple resolutions, screen sizes, and aspect ratios. If you want a nice tablet UI as well as a nice phone UI, then yes, you'll have to do some work to make that happen, but there are features to help with that, too, such as the Fragments system.

A lot of this stuff has been in the OS since 1.6, but the Fragments stuff for tablets only came about in 3.0 and greater, though I think there are backwards-compatibility libraries that let you build apps that use Fragments on pre-3.0 versions of the OS, too.

Having this support baked in to the OS for so long is a great strength of Android, IMO, rather than a weakness, especially compared to iOS and its near-obsession with laying out everything based on pixels. It may require a little more work for developers, but it's entirely manageable, and it ensures that developers don't have to race to update their apps once some new device hits.

No, but I did spend some time with the documentation, and whenever your app starts (which apparently happens even when the phone is rotated; your program appears to actually be killed and restarted), you're responsible to determine the aspect ratio of the screen, and display an appropriate UI. You can maybe stretch a 5:4 UI to 16:9, but it's going to look funny in many cases, and it's definitely going to be wasting serious screen real estate, if you have a complex app.

It strikes me that if you think making a UI is easy, you probably don't make very good ones. If it was a 'solved problem', then every Android app would look the same, and nobody would think Apple applications were better.

No, but I did spend some time with the documentation, and whenever your app starts (which apparently happens even when the phone is rotated; your program appears to actually be killed and restarted), you're responsible to determine the aspect ratio of the screen, and display an appropriate UI. You can maybe stretch a 5:4 UI to 16:9, but it's going to look funny in many cases, and it's definitely going to be wasting serious screen real estate, if you have a complex app.

It strikes me that if you think making a UI is easy, you probably don't make very good ones. If it was a 'solved problem', then every Android app would look the same, and nobody would think Apple applications were better.

I didn't say making a UI was easy, I said the different aspect ratio sh*t is solved and you don't need to make a "different" UI for each configuration.

You're simply out of your element here. If you think your UI will be stretched then you don't understand how to build an Android UI.

You're simply out of your element here. If you think your UI will be stretched then you don't understand how to build an Android UI.

I was just looking at a fairly nice calculator app I bought awhile back, on my Galaxy Nexus. It comes with (at least) two separate UIs, one each for 16:9 and for 19:6. It's very sophisticated-looking, much like a real calculator might be, had one had been designed at that aspect ratio.

And there is no way they could stretch that UI to any other aspect ratio without it looking funny. The buttons would be squashed or stretched, or spaced strangely. It would look like sh*t on anything but a 16:9 display.

Yet, somehow, I rather doubt the author wrote it for just those two aspect ratios.

You can't just handwave about this. If you want a UI to really be right, and if your application is at all complex, it needs a separate thought and design process for each aspect ratio and orientation. If all you've got is three buttons and a text-entry field, maybe you won't have to spend much time with it, but sophisticated apps with dozens of buttons are fiddly as sh*t.

One of Apple's strongest points was that there were only two ratios to consider. Now there are three.

I love the Do not Distube mode. Got annoyed that I had to turn airplane mode on every night. I also really like that I dont have to put in my password to update apps.

The maps are just ok. I am still going to use Google Maps when they release it. Streetview, walking directions, and public transit are huge for me.

Edit: For those wondering the "Do Not Disturb" mode settings are in Notifications. You can set the timeframe that you dont want anything coming through and can also set priority contacts to be able to get through while this mode is one. Favorite feature so far.

The Yelp-powered search in Apple Maps sucks. Know the exact name of the business you're searching for? Good. Just looking for businesses/doctors/etc? You're SOL.

The loss of transit directions sucks even more. Using a third-party app is about the bare minimum for a stop-gap solution (short of using the slow Google Maps mobile site), but you better hope a) you can find a good reliable app and b) this is only temporary. (Transit, by Tapone, is free and seems to be working well for Vancouver so far.) [Edit: Not so reliable.]

TempestBlayze wrote:

I have no idea. Also the traffic data on the new map is pretty lame. Hardly any information for me anyway.

I noticed that as well. I'm wondering if that's iOS 6 users only? If so, I expect it to fill out over the next few weeks as people upgrade or get their iPhone 5s.

The roadwork indicators are something new and appreciated at least.

Gravey, I'm never sure, on a scale of 1-10, just how serious you are when you post. – Minarchist

Three apps and three bucks later, and TransitTimes+ ($3) seems to be the best transit app so far from those available for me. At least, all the routes tried so far make sense, it's easy to read, I can easily change the departure/arrival time, and it hasn't totally sh*t the bed like The Transit App ("Trip planner is temporarily unavailable" 80% of the time) or Transit by Tapone (no choice of routes, some routes going in the opposite direction).

Not the way I got used to getting my transit directions. I don't think I'll be a "BLEAARGH TIME TO DOWNGRADE" AIM, but I rely pretty heavily on transit directions and they became a killer feature for a smartphone for me. Hopefully either Apple can get it sorted and TransitTimes+ can do the trick in the meantime; or Google can release their own maps app (and Apple approves it).

For good news, the Podcasts app is usable so far.

Gravey, I'm never sure, on a scale of 1-10, just how serious you are when you post. – Minarchist

I downloaded the podcast app a while back and it's good, but not as good as the third-party app I use. Caster, I think? The icon looks like an oldschool microphone. Overall, I'm finding that iOS 6 is notably faster than iOS 5, to the point where my iPhone 4 is pretty snappy again and I may wait on an upgrade.

If I didn't really know about iOS 6, I'd be pretty hard pressed to tell much difference compared to 5. Sure, there are a few notable exceptions like MAPS or CLOCK, but 190 of the 200 "big changes" seem to be "under-the-hood" kind of stuff that's hard to get excited about (or even notice).

I *do* appreciate the built-in Facebook integration. Haven't tried Siri yet... not sure how useful it will be on an iPad.

I downloaded the podcast app a while back and it's good, but not as good as the third-party app I use. Caster, I think? The icon looks like an oldschool microphone. Overall, I'm finding that iOS 6 is notably faster than iOS 5, to the point where my iPhone 4 is pretty snappy again and I may wait on an upgrade.

If you're hard core into tons of podcasts and are ocd (like me) about playlists, give Downcast a try. It's the best podcast app I've tried - and I've tried a lot of them.

SommerMatt wrote:

If I didn't really know about iOS 6, I'd be pretty hard pressed to tell much difference compared to 5.

I upgraded my iPhone 4 yesterday, and there aren't that many updates. The sms replies are nice, and Do Not Disturb is great. I want to say it feels snappier too, but that may be my imagination.

Had a weird bug last night though where my phone kept throwing up an Apple.com site when trying to connect to my home wifi like it was a hotspot. Lots of complaints on the forums about it and then it suddenly fixed itself. Supposedly had something to do with a page being unavailable at Apple.com. Don't understand how that can affect wifi but if true it's a little troubling.

If you're hard core into tons of podcasts and are ocd (like me) about playlists, give Downcast a try. It's the best podcast app I've tried - and I've tried a lot of them.

+1

Really liking the new app store design and the little "New" ribbon that appears on newly installed apps after you return to the home screen. (It doesn't kick you out of the app store anymore when you start installing an app!)